Vending-machine.



. W. G. SHARKEY.

VENDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED 1120.27, 1913.

Patented Sept. 29, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

Patented Sept. 29, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

mmV

UNITED STATES rnrnn r @FFEQE.

WILLIAM C. SHARKEY, OF PHILADELPHIA, P1?NIN'SYLVJEJelI}: ASSIGNGR 2&3 CLARENCE A. GOSLIN, 0F PHILADELEHZA, PENNSYLVANIA.

VENDING- HACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 29, 1914.

Agplication filed Bee-ember 27, 1913. Serial No. 806.972.

T0112? whom it may concern Be it known that I, l/Viminiii C. Snsnnnr, a citizen of the United Stet-es, residing in h'l lh P =l' h" 1 1 1 aoep ii, cnnuywano, d\0 nnenteu certain lmprovemencs mVendmg-Machmos,

of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention is to provide a relatively simple and substanlicl mechanism for vending packages of candy, chewing gum and the like, it being especially desired that she mechanismshnll he inexpensive to construct, and have its parts so arranged that they shall not easily get oul; of order or require repair.

The invention also contemplates novel means for preventing lhe introduction of coins after all of the packages or other orticles-have been discharged and the arming menland design of the apparatus as :1 whole is such as re reduce i0 :1 minimum the number of moving parts.

it is also desired to provide a device of the above noted type in which means shall be includcd for preventing the noisy operation of any of its parts and in which the arrangement and construction of parts shall be such that it shall be practically impossible for any one to abstract .2 piece of candy or gum without placing. in the n'iachinc :1 coin of the proper denonnnacion, it l)lilll' also (lwvil'flli to prevent the securing of more than one piece of the goods in the machine hy the insertion of each coin.

These objects" and other advantageous ends 1 secure as hereinafter set forth, rcfcrenco h'eing had to the HCC0l1ll)2lH Vlil,I dmw ings, in which Figure l'is a perspective view of n vcmling machine constructed according to my invention; Figs. 2 and 3 are two elevations further illustrating the invcnliou -showin; the mechanism in its normal posilion. and also in the position occupied just licfore the lost pncloigc has been removed; Figs. 4, 5 and 3 are perspective views illustrating the detail construction of certain of tho poi-ls of the invention; Fig. 7 is an elevation, partly in section, illustrating the relative positions of certain of the ports after :1 coin has been inserted; Figs. 8 and 9 are inverted plans, partly in section, of the parts shown in Fig. 7, illustrating the operw -tion of the apparatus; Fig. l0 is n frngmenlzarv perspective view illustrating the megneo and its associated parts.

In lhe above drawings, 1 represents a mecollie or other suitable box constituting an inclosing casing which may be open on its rear face or he provided with any suitable door or cover, as may he desired. As shown in Fig. l, the front face of lzhis casing is cut away to provide an opening which for the most part is closed by a plate 2 of nonmagnesic metal, such as brass, bent to have an angular section and provided with an elongated coin e105 3. The'plate 2 not only extends upon the inside surface of the front member of the casing but also projects immhdiateiy adjacent the side 1 thereof, as indicaied at 4,, and upon it I mount a permanent magnet 5, which extends substantially parallel with and immediately adjacent to the plane of the slot 3. As a result of this construction, on iron washer introduced through said slot would cling in or be dc-' flectedhy the lower end of the magnet 5 insiead of falling into in operative position,-

nting lever 14 of the construction shown in Fig. 4, normally held in the position shown in Fig. 2 by a spring 7 acting on one of its arms 8. Said lcvcr cons-l s of a bar having a projecting lug on one side provided with a hearing for lhc pivot pin 6. From this pin the lever extends toward the adjacent side of'thc casing and thereafter extends substantially parallel thercwith immediately adjacent the coin slot 3, beyond whose lower edge it is provided with an 'ofi-s'et or re- ('csscd 1)()l'i,l()ll 10 for the reception of the turned up and 12 of an ejecting lever 13 hereafter referred to in detail. The lower portion of the renrmost edge of this lever 14 is flungcd'ns indicated at 15 so as to normally extend across the plane of the slot 3 and the flange is extended to provide a forwardly projecting abutment, 16. As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, this is spaced away from the lower end of the main portion of the lever 14 by a distance somewhat greater than the thickness of a coin :0, which the machine is designed to receive. l Scpamhiy fixed to or formed integral with the lever is an arm 1'1 in. the form of a hollow angular struetureforming an operating member projecting through an opening in the side 1 of the owing 1, with its top sur 5 face preferably horizontal and its outer edge formed on a curve substantiall with the pivot pin 6. Under te action of the spring 7, the lever is is normally'held in such aposition that this operatin mem- 16 bar odcupies the position shownin' l figs. 1

and 2. I

In order to prevent v v under the atcion of the spring returns to its normal position, I insert suitable dovetaile'd or undercut recess iu'the flan e 152.

body 15 of rubber or the like fl Jus, below" the lower end of the lever 14*, I provide a horizontally elongated abutment 18 for the purpose of temporarily supporting a coin,

g and in the present instance this abutment consists of an angular rib formed inte reel with andprojecting from inner sur ace of the front of the casing, its'end most distent from the side 1 of the 'oasing being 5 notched or provided with a shoulder 18 so placed as to prevent a backward .movement of a coin which has once passed over it.

The ejecting lever, as shown in Fig. 6,

consists of a relatively fiat bar 13 having a as side arm 19 which extends across theoperating lever and whose end is provided with r the bent up portion 12 above referred to.

lhis lever is pivoted on a pin. 20 projecting from the inner face or the casing front adjacent the t op, and it isof such length that its lower end swings immediately above the bottom of the casing, being turned up substantially at right angles to its planeas indicated at 21 This lever is so placed and a0 proportioned that when the operating. lever 14;, under the action of its spring '2', occupies the position shown in Fig. 2, turned no end 12.1ies within the recesse said lever with its outer face substantially 5 flush with the adjacent main portion thereof, i

As a consequence the ejecting end 21 is held to one side of the bottom of the immediately adjacent or in contact with a parfition 22 which with, the front, side and back of the casing, forms a coin receptacle All packages or articles to be vended are contained within a vertically placed chute or holder 24, which in the present instance consists of a sheet of tin having a front and two 5 sides 25 and 26 provided with flanges cxtending toward each other. i This package holder is held in place within the casing by a screw 27 which also holds in of the spring 7 and the front of said holder eg is spaced away from the inside face of the front of the casing by lugs 28 and 29 formed integral with the latter so thatthe ejecting lever 13 is free to swing between it and said I face. The 'lower end and the sides of the holder are cut away, as indicated at 30, to

noise when the lever concentric sides and its front face place one end permit the arm 21 freely more into and across the bottom of said holder toward the aclrage outlet opening 31 formed the ower end of the second side l of the casing. I The packages y which the machine 18 designed to vend, are within the holder 2'1 aw ose width between itssides 25 and 26 is therefore substantially equal to the length or" each of said and whose depth between the flanges of said is equal tothe Width of the packages. This is pressed downwardly by any suitabl sactnating member such as a weight 32, preien ablyv consisting of a mass of metal substantially of the same width and breadthas the packages and having heads or ends 33 which project on opposite sides of the plane ofvits fiat central portion.

The outlet opening 31 has a valve or auto matic stop which of a lever 34 ivoted to the casing .pin in sue a; manner that one extends downwardly within the casin immediately adjacent the opening 31, Whl e its other arm extends in the opposite direction and normaly rests against the side l so as to prevent said first arm from being pushed inwardly, it being noted that an integral rib or inwardly pro ecting, lug 3& extends im-- mediately have the opening isl so as to efiec' tually prevent the malicious introduction of a knife blade, pin, orrthelike, for" the purpose of opening the valve, 3%. The width or said lever or valve is substantially equal to the length ofthe outlet openin ,31 and it is normally held in the position s own in Fig. 2 by a flat spring 36 acting on itswupwardly extending arm, the springin the presentin stance being retained in laceby one of the screws 37 employed to hold a lock 38 in. place- 011 the inside surface of the side 1*. In the present instance this locl: is designed for use in retaining in place a cover plate not shown), which is of such dimcnsionsss to fit-within the rearface of the casing. Said plate adjacent one end has a air of project 111;); pins designed to enter libles 39 in the top end of the casing and atthe opposite end has a second pin designed to enter a hole bodyby a 40 in the bottomend of said casin By means of suitable key, the mechanism of the lock 38 may be operated to project'a bolt whereby said cover plate may be prevented from removal.

Under conditions of use, thel101der'24 is filled to the level of the upper ends of its side flanges by a column ofpackages or other articles to be vended, and the weight; 32 is placed on the top or" said columnas shown in Fig. 2. Thereafter when a coin of suitable denomination is delivered through. the slot 3 to the mechanism within the easing, it falls downwardly between the inner edge of thestructure- Tend the adjacent laced in a column in this case has theform' of its arms column of packages e 1,112,eee

face of the lever 14:, and is-finally stopped by the rib l8 and the inner face of the lower portion of the flange 15. Obviously, if the coin is of less than the predetermined diameter, it will not be supported upon these members but will immediately drop into the coin receiving space 23 so that the revolution of the lever is on its pivot has no eilect upon the ejecting member 13.

If the object introduced through the coin slot should be an iron disk or washer, it would be held by the attraction of the magnet 5 from falling into the position noted, so that as the lever 14: was turned on its pivot, it would be merely pushed out of engagement with said magnet by the inner edge of the operating member 17 and as bet'ore noted, would fall into the coin receiving space without afiecting the. ejecting member. 11, however, the coin lodges as noted upon the rib l8 and the inner lower portion of the flange 15, as shown in Fig. 7, the turning of the lever 1% on its pivot causes the lip or abutment 16 to engage said coin (Fig. 8), and to move it laterally along the rib 18. As said coin is moved, however, it engages and carries with it the upturned end of the arm l9,'thus swinging the ejecting lever 13 on its pivot from the position shown in Fig. 52 into the position shown in Fi 3. Such movement or this ejecting lever causes the lower end QLt-hereof to be moved under. the bottom of the package holder 2%, hus bringing it into engagement with thelowermost package y and causing this to be pushed out from under the column of packages. It is noted, however, that before the lGVGl l3 hasbeen moved suiiiciently to cause its end 21 to move a package far enough to open the valve 34, the coin passes the shoulder 18 and falls behind itwithout dropping off the rib 18. Since it is now not possible for the coin to move back on the rib 18, it is obviously impossible to secure a package y and thereafter allow the parts to return to their normal positions with the (win still resting on said rib, and consequently the continued use of a single coin to obtain an indefinite number of packages is ellectually prevented. The continued forward movement of the end 21 of the lever 13 causes one of the packages to be brought into engagement withthe lever valve 34: which thereby moved i the position shown in Fig. 3. while thc p. clzuge p 'ojects through the opening Bl in the side of the casing.

The continued movement of the lever 14 'on its pivot causes the coin m to be moved oil of the rib 18 although it is still confined between the abutment l6 and the up-turne end 12, until the pressure on the operating member if; relaxed. Immediately thereafter, under the action oi gravity, the coin drops into the receptacle 23, and the spring '2' causes the lever 14: to be turned on its pivot from the position shown in Fig. 3 into that shown in Fig. 2.

Owing to the engagement of the upturned end 12 of the arm 19 with the side of the recess 10 in the lower end of the lever 1a, the ejecting lever 13 is likewise drawn back into and held in its normal position. The weight with the column of packages 9' thereafter moves bodily downward so as to brin another package into position to be engaged by the end 21 of the ejecting lever 13. The end of the package which has been forced through the outlet opening 31, may now be grasped and withdrawn from the casing, after which the spring 3%, acting on the upper arm of the lever valve 34, returns this to its normal closed position.

After the last package of the column has been discharged as shown in 3*, the weight 32 rests upon the bottom of the casing, so that one of its heads 33 is engaged bf, the arm 21 of the ejecting lever 13 as this is drawn back toward its normal position by thev spring actuated lever Said head .LJJ thereafter prevents the forth I return movement of said two levers and holds the lever ii in such a position that the Hat side of the operating member 1'? lies immediately adjacent the inside face of the brass plate 2,

thus effectuallypreventing the introduction of any more coins through the slot 3 until such time as the weigit 32 is removed, as when the hOldcr 24- is again filled, after which the ejecting lever 13 and the operating lever 14 are free to return to their ofi posit-ions.

B'y reason of the peculiar shape and mounting of the lever valve 3%, it is pine-- ticallv impossible to open this from the outside, while, as above noted, the operation of the machine whereby it might be caused to deliver a number of packages for a single coin, is also prevented.

The buffer 15 eiiectuallv prevents objectionable noise as thelever strikes the side of the casing when returning to its normal no sition after operation, and the construction as a. whole is simple and compact.

I claim 1. The combination in a vending ma- 1 n 4 I chine, of a casing havi a coin slot; an op erating lever, extending edgewise substantiallv parallel with the wall of said casing adjacent the slot and having its edge portion below the slot recessed to form an abutment shaped to engage the,edge and one face or a coin and cooperate with a part of the casing to tempdrarily support said coin; ith an ejecting lever pivoted adjacent the first .lever and having a portion intermediate its ends extended across the operating lever, said portion including a projecting pert iormedto he engaged and moved by "lee the latter lever when it moves in one direction and operatively connected to the operating lever by the coin when said lever moves in the opposite direction.v

2. The combination in a vending, machine, of a casinghaving a coin slot; with a pair of pivoted levers within the casing, one of which extends edgewise substantially parallel with and is spaced from an adjacent wall of the casing with a portion of its edge below said slot provided with a recess, the other lever having an arm extending from an intermediate portion across the first lever and pro ecting into the recess thereof so as to be moved thereby under predetermined conditions, ,a portion of said casing and the adjacent portion of the first lver being formed to support a coin between them in position to operatively connect said levers. c

'3. The combination in a vending machine of a casing having a coin slot; an operating lever extending edgewise substantially parallel with and supported adjacent one wall of the casing, said lever having a portion of its edge below said slot provided with a recess and having a slotted portion formed to cooperate with a part of the casing to sunport a coin in a, position adjacent said recess; with an ejecting lever pivotally mounted at its upper end and having its lower end formed to eject an article, said ejecting lever having a right angled extension intermediate its ends projecting across the operatlng lever and turned into the recess thereof 1n position to be moved directly by said lever under certain conditions, and through the medium of the coin under other conditions.

4. The combination in a vending machine of'a casing having a coin slot; an operating lever extending edgewise substantially parallel with and supported adjacent one wall of the casing, said lever having a por-' ticn of its edgebelow said slot provided with a recess and including a slotted portion-coiiperating with a portion of the casing to support a coin adjacent saidrecess; an ejecting lever pivotally mounted at its upper end and having its lower end formed to eject an article, said ejecting lever having a right, angled extensionintermediate its ends projecting across the operating lever andturned into'the recess thereof in position. -to be 'opera'tively connected to said leverthrough the coin, said operating lever being pivotally mounted between its ends; and a spring connected to the upper end of thefop'erating lever and to the-casing.

- allel with a wall of the casing and recessed on a side presented toward said abutment,

1 --.5. "The combination in a vending machine.

6. The combination in a-vending machine of a casing having a coin supporting. abutment; a lever mounted in the casing having a lower portion extending substantially parallel with a wall of the casing and recessed on a side presented toward said abutment,. said recessed portion adapted to cooperate with said abutment to temporarily support a coin by its'edges, a wall of the recess being in position to engage the face .of the coin; and an ejecting lever pivotally mounted at its upper end back of the first-named lever and having an arm normally extending be-' tween a portion of the operating-lever and one face of the coin delivered thereto; said abutment being shorter in length than the path of movement of the co'ciperating end of the operating lever.

7. The combination in a vending machine of a casing; an operatingv lever mounted therein having a lower portion presented edgewise toward an opposing wall'of the casing and provided with a recess, said lever having a slotted part cooperating wlth a part of the casing to support a coin adjacent said recess; an ejecting lever having an arm extending across the operating lever and turned into said recess in position to, be operatively connected to said lever by the coin, and a spring holding the operating lever in normal position.

8. In a vending machine,-the combination of a casing having'a coin, slot; an oper 'ting v lever adjacent said'slot having an edge ortion below the slot recessed to form an abutment opposing the wall of the casing and cooperating with an abutment of said casing to support a coin; an ejecting leverpivoted adjacent the operating lever .and having a projecting arm extending across the operating lever in po-- sition to be operativelyconnected thereto by the coinwhenthe latter lever moves in one direction a package actuating member .in the form of a weight having a head" and means for guiding the head of.- member' into holding engagement the ejecting lever when the last package has been d1scharged,to cause .itto retaI'IL-the. operating c oin slot. l

9. The combination in avending machine of a casing; an operatin levery arizejecting le Fer in the casing back 0 the operatinglever,

said ejecting lever being pivotally mounted at its upper end and having an arm extend-v lever in a position to close the ing from an intermediate portion towarct and across the operating lever and having a right angled portion to be engaged thereby When said operating lever is moved in one direction; an abutment on the operating lever; means for guiding a coin into a position between said abutment and the end of the ejecting lever arm; means for temporarily supporting a coin in such position; i and means for actuating the operating iever to cause movement to be transmitted there- 'i from through a coin to the ejecting iever. 10. The combination of a casing having a snbstantiaily horizontal abutment and a coin slot a flanged operating lever pivoted Within 1 the casing having a cooperating abutment 1 in position to temporarily support a coin between the body or the lever and said first- 1 named abutment with its edges engaged by i the flange of the lever and the abutment on the casing; and an ejecting lever pivotally mounted in the casing having an intermediate portion provided with, an arm which projects toward the operating lever, said arm having an extremity bent and extending across the operating lever and projecting i *3 ti e coin, said ejecting iever aiso having an ejecting arm.

1. The combination in a vending machine of a casing having a coin slot and provided with a substantially horizontal supporting abutment; an operating lever pivoted to the casing h." g a slotted portion place to cosaid abutment to support a operate wit coin and formed to lateral movement of the coin or? of the abutment when said i ver is op" ted; with an ejecting lever mounted to move in a plane parallel to the plane of movement or said operating lever and having a portion extending between one side i the operating lever and a coin when thelatter is resting on the abutment so as to be moved by said coin.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

VVILLTLAM C. SHARKEY.

Witnesses WILLIAM E. BRADLEY, J os. H. 'LEIN.

etween the body of the operat lever and I 

